<Unknown POV>
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Sitting in my office, I was trying to reach my contacts for help; I knew I couldn’t stand a chance against them, alone.
I called my alliance like a thousand times, but every time whether it was unavailable, switched off, or complete ‘no’ in answer. I should have known that nobody would dare to step against the Kings.
I cried out with frustration and threw my phone into the wall facing me to let the useless gadget crash into pieces. Before I ambled to open my weapons vault.
I knew what I thought before perpetrating a suicidal plan, but I wouldn’t go to beg for mercy either, no. Never.
It stated as the first rule of the underworld: ‘shoot first or be ready to die.’
I’m Ryker Romano, a mafia boss from whom people feared, a dangerous killer, merciless monster until she came into the game.
I loaded my gun, ready to end what I started when my office doors burst open to show Liam, my right-hand man. He came rushing by my side, panting heavily. A combination of fear and worry was radiating through his once lethal features.
“Riker! Those bastards’ Kings kidnapped Roman.” Liam informed, causing me to tighten my grip on my gun barrel. My knuckles turned white.
‘Kings’, another mafia gang, Evan King, was the leader of Kings. They were Italian’s biggest rivals ever since my dad started the business.
However, they weren’t much of a problem back then. We were always in power until it all changed some years back when she joined their gang.
Nobody knew where she came from, her family, her weakness, her past background, nothing. She was a complete mystery herself, like a blank sheet of paper. With her in no time, Kings became more powerful than us Italians.
But it all turned to hell when I planned and killed their gang leader, Evan King. Two days ago…
It was the biggest mistake on my account. After Evan’s death, she took over the gang. Which was unexpected.
I was proud to be called the most dangerous and lethal killer underworld ever had known, but not anymore.
I was nowhere near her. She was the real evil, heartless, lethal, and merciless mafia world ever heard of. She was Rebel King.
Evil Mafia Queen, the whole underworld, goes drop-dead silent just by mere whispers of her name. Nobody had ever seen her though and left alive to share the tales.
Within 6 hours, she came to power. My 8 liquor factories, 15 clubs, and two warehouses burned down to the ground overnight. Countless people in my gang were shot to death. She destroyed the Italian empire overnight as a token of revenge for Evan’s death.
Now she had my younger brother Roman, she found out about my weakness.
And I knew what she wanted. She left me with no other choice.
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<Rebel POV>
By the time I finished working out, my skin was glittering with a thick layer of sweat, my breath was ragged. I glared at the punching bag resting on the floor in the unrecognized form.
It became my daily midnight routine, torturing both the punching bag and myself. I couldn’t control this resentment, frustration, and thirst that kept crawling under my skin every living second.
It was dawn by now. I paced to leave the training room. A cold shower sounded like a better option to me.
By the time I crossed the threshold of the training room, somebody was already waiting for me there, holding a towel in one hand and a water bottle in the other hand.
Kyle, my right-hand man, was more like a best friend to me. The man was lethal, the beast in the ring. Scarcely a look from him. All it took to make the best fighters wet their pants in the ring. His inked triceps and imitating height were just an add-on to his profile.
He passed me a towel whilst steering his gaze behind me on the training room’s floor, where the punching bag rested dead.
He shook his head and chuckled. Passing me a captivating arch-brow look, he asked in amusement, “What’s the score... 148 or 150?”
I rolled my eyes and retorted, “Lost counts.”
He snickered. “You should stop this before our annual expenditure exceeds our annual collection.”
I threw a towel at his face, but it did nothing to quiet him.
Irritated, I snatched the water bottle from his hand and walked past him, retreated to my room.
Indeed, I lost count of how many nights I had spent throwing punches until my knuckles burst out bleeding. I was trotting on the edge with continuous nightmares, sleepless nights, and my growing craving every night.
----------------------------
I entered the underground cell with Kyle by my side. Others greeted me, heads bowed down in respect and mostly out of fear. Nobody dared to look me in my eyes, except if they had a death wish.
I narrowed my gaze at the person bound to the chair. His once charming face was full of bruises now. Unrecognizable.
Blood was dripping from several cuts over his body, and black rings around his eyes indicated my boys did a decent job. Now it was my turn.
I ordered the boys to leave, and they followed forthwith. Kyle was the last one to leave. He locked the door behind him. However, not before flashing me a smirk. Fucker knew well what was about to come. They all knew.
I shifted forward to grab the man by the cheeks, digging my fingers deep in his black and blue bruised flesh, gracefully. He hissed in pain through gritted teeth and kept staring into my eyes. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Good.
“Mafia Boss.” I spat out bitterly. What a piece of dirt.
“Just..... leave him.....you got what you want.” He snarled.
I ignored his pleas and walked upright to the end of the room. There was a table filled with touring devices, or what we used to call ‘toys’.
I picked up my favorite one. A blade made of Damascus steel. I smirked when ran a finger at its sharp tip.
“This is perfect for today’s occasion.”
I sat back in the chair placed in the middle of the room, facing him. Before grabbing a last hell torture ingredient, a small glass bottle filled with amber color liquid.
“Just let him go, goddammit! I did what you asked me to do.” He said, almost shouting. His eyes were on the gifts I bought him.
“I will,” I smirked and stabbed his right hand in the armrest of the wooden chair with a blade, reaping an ear-piercing scream.
“Bitch!”
Moving forward, my face was mere inches away from him. I whispered in a low, chilled tone, “I dare you to say another word.” He gulped audibly. Satisfied with the reaction, I ripped the knife from his hand.
He sealed his lips tightly to suppress his screams. Impressive, so much to pride for?
The corner of my lips turned up as I whispered my next words to him “... or I would love to gift wrap your bones to Hades’s door.” I moved slightly to watch his reaction. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard, yet tried to mask it.
He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and stared at me in complete horror, anticipating my next step.
An evil smirk appeared on my face when I started to peel off the skin of his arm with my favorite knife. It worked like butter.
He bit down on his lower lip, ruined my plan to listen to him scream, and begged me to stop, but couldn’t control the tears that leaked like a river.
This man had a powerful spirit, ruling the entire underworld alone for years. Nevertheless, one bad move and here he was. A prey of evil mafia queen, that’s what they named me, and my inner devil was more than eager to clarify them. There’s more to it than that.
Once done, I sat back in my seat to admire my artwork. Giving an approving nod, I picked the last item to finish my masterpiece.
I poured acidic content on his arms where I peeled off the skin. And there it came. He started screaming like a bitch in heat.
I laughed like an evil while watching him struggle to break free from holds like a fish caught in the net and sobbing.
“....p... please... please” I gave a thought to his pleas, before cutting off his ropes. He immediately jumped to his shaky legs and turned to face me.
“Thanks...f.. for forgiving me,” He muttered in a shaky voice. I found it comical how easily he believed I could spare him. I almost felt bad for breaking his hope. Almost.
“Who said I am done with you?” I said dryly. My face remained emotionless while removing the special gloves I was wearing. He was quite smart to understand the meaning behind my words and sprinted off towards the door without wasting time.
In the next second, his body fled to the far end of the room by a powerful gust of wind. A loud thud sound echoed.
Air was knocked out of his lungs. Lay on the floor, he struggled to breathe like fish out of water.
I walked to him and bent down to clasp his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye.
“Let me give you your death present first,” I whispered sweetly. I smiled down at him and wrapped a hand around his thick neck.
His body started dancing like a leaf in the storm when a high lightning bolt passed through his body. He stared at me with big eyes whilst making all the horrible noises. I relished him after a minute, not wanting to finish my prey just yet.
He knocked down like a dead body but continued to form those horrible sounds.
I grinned when he asked in a barely hearable voice, “W-who... are... y-you?” He tried to push himself away from me. Huh, like he could. Such a useless act.
I smirked devilishly and stared into his eyes while acknowledging that last wish whilst I jumped back to my feet.
“For you... Death.” I whirled toward the door before striking the last glance at my prey. Satisfied with his pitiful state, I waved my hand in the air to wrap up.
Out of thin air, his body was engulfed by furious red flames, and the underground cell filled with ear-piercing screams and a rotten smell.
I swiveled on my heels before whispering the complete answer to his questions under my breath, “And for the world… gifted.”
I left the room and passed other gang members in the hallway. They watched at me in pure horror before bowing their heads down in front of me.
--------------------- After killing Italian’s leader, Ryker Romano. I marched straight to my office, located on the 2nd floor. This floor contained my office and suite. It was Evan’s before. He loathed the idea of someone going through his stuff and gang’s details. I opened the spare door to my suite and hopped into the second door inside my room, which turned out to be the bathroom. Turning on the water, the white glass sink turned red. I washed my bloodied hands and face. I glared at my reflection in the mirror. I flinched when the face looking back from the mirror was not mine but a girl with pale skin, dark brown hair, and grey emotionless eyes. I didn’t know this girl, but I saw her running in a dark alley in my dreams so many times that I lost count. I never recognized her, but the shiny thing in her hands was something I remembered. I could tell she was running from someone to save her life. I shut my eyes and tried to escape from this horrible nightmare, but
Xavier P. O. VLoud cheering and thumping of fists on the metal walls making the surface of the ring tremble with motion. My breathing is heavy, as blood is pouring out of my jaw.With every passing second cheering for my name is continuously increasing, inflicting a sharp pain in my skull. I opened my eyes to look at the crowd gathered in the ring before turning to my opponent who was grinning at his masterwork. He is certain I have no strength left to jump on my feet now, but is it true?Hell no! I gush in a deep breath before getting a firm grip of the metal wires wall and jumping back to my feet. My opponent growled in frustration before coming running towards me with his full speed to knock me out.Seriously? I will be damned if I give him an opening this time. I ca
<Xavier POV>---------------Curiosity gets the best of me. I came back from the club late at night and went to the gym early in the morning. Today was the day I had been waiting for.I was excited to meet the King's leader. I heard a lot about her. How she doubled the King's power overnight.As instructed I reached the spot on time. Surprisingly King's headquarters were not underground, or some shady place that makes you puke. Nothing you could imagine of a dangerous mob gang trend. It was a quite elite-looking mansion, surrounded by the forest as far as one could see.Nobody could set foot inside this place until they had ordered. The whole mansion was packed with tight security, both high-tech and physical. For the exact location, I wasn't sure either. They blindfolded me before throwing me in the car.They didn't remove my blindfolds until we reached the first check post. I was cramped in the car's back seat between two bulky guys.We got through the big metal gates which were guar
After settling the Italian business, I was free to get back into my usual life. Yet not that normal. Only a bunch of people knew about my second life. Thanks to Evan, I could get the taste of mundane life without worrying about getting a bullet in my head. Apart from managing dangerous stuff, I lived the life of a 19 years old teenager, studying architecture and chilling out with friends in the evening. After collecting reports for a week and assigning new tasks, I called Kyle to handle from here: I’m going back home. Home? The King Mansion. The only place where I felt at ease. Yes, you heard me right. There was another King Mansion owned by the King family. This was the place where I bought first by Evan after he found me on the roadside. Evan was in the mafia business for so long and knew of the risk involved in it. Not just for the person getting his hands dirty, but also for his loved ones and family. To ensure his family’s safety, Evan planned a car accident tha
--------------------What was an epic fate, meeting two well-named gangs in one day? And the fun fact was, I got the job of delivering the dead body of one of the mighty ones by the order of another one. I should have posted it on social media. I bet it would hit a million likes. The person sitting in front of me in the van was another Romano. Brown hair, grey eyes, and fit built what an eighteen years old kid could have but the nerves of this guy, glaring at us as if ready to burn each one of us alive the moment we set him free. The Romano Family ruled the New York black market over the decades. Italians were the most powerful gang before Kings came into existence. Both gangs were known for their hatred for each other. They have been thirsty for each other’s blood for decades. Shit hit the fan when Evan kidnapped Johnson’s daughter (father of Ryker Romano and previous leader of Italians). Eventually, Evan King and Angelina Romano fell in love and married against the Ro
I hopped off the yacht and stared at Mr. Karim, the head of the security services, made a silent gesture to leave me alone. Before pulling out my phone from my coat’s pocket and pretending to not pay attention to him. Mom sent him with me to ensure I didn’t run away like hell I could. I knew the consequences I would have to bear if I dared to disrespect her words and did something rash. And believe me, mom turned scary, not a sight you want to witness.“Forgive me, Miss, I received orders to guard you until you enter the college building. And you are not allowed to use your mobile phone either.” Mr. Karim stated in his perfectly professional voice, which irked me off. I gritted my teeth angrily yet nodded curtly while handing my cell to him, no matter how much I wanted to run off, but I knew better. With this man as my bodyguard, it was safer to do as told, at least for now, because Mr. Karim had a sickness of endless loyalty towards his boss.Mr. Karim moved ahead to open
As we reached the terrace, I shut the door behind me and took a moment to catch my breath.Damn Lisa and her muggers!I never understood why they couldn’t just focus on the task their parents were paying for: studying.Why not just live and let others live?This was the first time I interfered in college bullies' affairs. It wasn’t like it didn’t affect me seeing Lisa and her gang bully innocent people now and then. I just didn’t want to get involved and attract unnecessary attention, especially since my mother made it clear from day one that she didn’t want our family in the headlines.That was precisely why, despite our wealth, the King family avoided socializing. Angelina King despised us for having a social media profile, even.It may sound crazy, yet it didn’t feel weird at all. It was a small cost to live a normal life, so be it.“Are you… Alright?” I raised my head to look at the source of the voice.I was quite struck by the most alluring brown eyes I had ever seen
--- “No matter how fast you run, you can't hide from your destiny because destiny has its way of finding you.” --- A tiny figure was running in the darkness of the alleyway. A fourteen-year-old girl, huffing, struggling to get enough oxygen for her lungs to function smoothly. Her tiny frame was trembling like a leaf, cheeks stained with tears. She was holding a shiny object in her shaky hands close to her chest, as if her life depended on it. The girl was none other than I, Rachael Santiago, the daughter of Raphael and Vanessa Santiago. My parents were council members of a secret society of supernaturals, Synx, and the owners of Santiago groups of companies. Supernatural, gifted, or part-human, you name it. In short, humans carry magic in their lineage. We could do stuff other people can only dream of or either pulled in movies. Every member of the special families, or as we called clans, has different and unique gifts of their own. We carried our gift from birth. We could feel